LeBlanc: 'I wasn't really happy with Joey'

Matt LeBlanc has admitted that he had some worries about his Friends spinoff Joey.

Speaking to the Radio Times, the actor explained that he was unhappy about the show but decided to keep working on it.

"With Joey there were great things about it and not great things about it," he said. "I felt like the rug got pulled out from under my feet a little bit. I wasn't really happy with the direction the writing took, but you stick it out."

He continued: "I'm not the smartest guy in the room and I'm not hired to write the show. I was hired to act. I did my job. I enjoyed the cast - they were fun. I think that a hit show is hard to make, really hard to come by."

LeBlanc admitted that he "backed way out of the spotlight" following the cancellation of Joey and explained that he hadn't planned to return to acting until he was offered a role in new show Episodes.

"I've been pitched lots of parts, mainly Joey-style parts, and said no to everything," he explained. "I really didn't want to go back to work... [With Episodes], maybe [I said yes] because it was [Friends writer] David [Crane] and [Mad About You scribe] Jeffrey [Klarik], maybe it's because it's not network comedy with all the pressure of ratings. But it's okay to venture out of the house again."

Episodes premieres on January 9 at 9.30pm on Showtime in the US and on January 10 at 9pm on BBC Two in the UK.